By 2001 2.8 Quattro has a leaking steering rack. It's "sweating," not leaking per-sey. However, it needs new inner and outer tierods on the right side. So in having that done, I was told that there's a possibility of making the leak worse. It's been suggested to replace the whole rack.

Now, I found an aftermarket rack from AAE for about $280. Does anybody have experience with aftermarket racks or should I go with the one that the mechanic found (around $550) that's remanufactured?

 

I replaced all 4 of my inner and outer tie rods, only to find out that a new rack came with inner tie rods. Even still, I saved money by purchasing an aftermarket rack off of ebay and I'm really happy with it. I love driving and I drive hard. My cornering has definitely put my rack to the test and it has performed/held up really well.

One thing you should do if you're going to replace your rack, is replace your engine and trans mounts. Not long after I had my new rack put in, it started leaking through the seal at the firewall and onto my mat. I thought it was because it was a shitty aftermarket rack, but after completely destroying two brand new driveshafts in less than a month (from really aggressive cornering), I found that the cause of the driveshaft failures were due to bad engine mounts. I replaced all 4 (2 engine/2 Trans) mounts and the power steering fluid leak stopped completely, so I would definitely recommend replacing those as well.

Bottom line: I have an aftermarket rack and I am perfectly happy with it (and I've had it for well over a year now).

GL